Bifunctional carbon nanotube networks for supercapacitors

Highly conducting and porous carbon nanotube (CNT) networks are used as the sole electron conducting material in supercapacitors. The high conductivity of CNT networks and the high surface area allow the replacement of both the metallic current collector and the active material that forms one side of the electrochemical double layer. The combination of both functions in one single layer leads to lightweight charge storage devices that can be manufactured using simple and cheap room temperature methods. The authors have demonstrated that the specific capacitance of such CNT electrodes is comparable to that of other carbon electrodes. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.